1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bicycles generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a novel shock-absorbing bicycle seat mount.
2. Background Art
Ordinarily, bicycle (bike) seats are supported on a post that is tightly clamped in a bike seat tube portion of a bike frame. This is true for movable bicycles and also for stationary, exercise, bikes. Seat height location is provided by a certain extension of the seat post upwardly and outwardly from the tube. At a post height extension for a particular rider""s desired seat height, a clamp located at the top of the tube is tightened to prevent any dislocation movement of the seat post. Thus, the seat post becomes, in effect, integral with the rigid bike frame which ordinarily does not provide for any road mechanical shock absorption other than that absorbed by the bike""s inflated rubber tires and front fork shock absorbers when the latter are provided.
It would be desirable, therefore, to have the seat post supported on a compression coil spring inside the tube so that some of the imparted road shock would be absorbed by that spring. A seat post that would be enabled to move in a quasi-vertical motion along the longitudinal axis of and inside the seat tube unrestricted by a tightened clamp as described above but restricted as to it""s rotational, xe2x80x9cswivelxe2x80x9d, motion is preferentially required for this desired shock absorbing effect.
Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a shock-absorbing bicycle seat mount that absorbs imparted road shock.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide such a bicycle seat mount that prevents rotational motion of the bicycle seat mount.
It is an additional objective of this invention to provide such a bicycle seat mount that can either be retrofitted to an existing bicycle or incorporated in the bicycle at the time of manufacture of the bicycle.
It is another objective of this invention to provide such a bicycle seat mount that can be economically constructed.
It is yet a further objective of this invention to provide such a bicycle seat mount that can be easily installed in a seat tube and attached thereto.
Other objectives of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.
The present invention achieves the above objectives, among others, by providing, in a preferred embodiment, a shock-absorbing bicycle seat mount, comprising: a post fixedly attached to a bicycle seat at a proximal end of said post, a distal end of said post being inserted into a bicycle seat tube for axial movement therein; biasing means disposed within said seat tube to support said post and provide a cushioning action for said post and said bicycle seat; and means to prevent rotational movement of said post within said seat tube.